Call to move sex offender mayor John Murray’s photo

Cork’s city councillors are to be asked to consider moving the portrait of former lord mayor John Murray from a prominent location in City Hall after his sexual assault conviction.

Murray, 83, from Gregg Rd in Cork, was jailed earlier this month after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl between 1996 and 1998.

Murray, who served as lord mayor in 1993 and 1994, denied all six charges.

However, following a trial, he was found guilty by a jury on five counts, and not guilty of the other charge.

On Dec 1, Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed a two-year sentence on each of four counts of sexual assault, with the last year suspended on each count.

He imposed a concurrent, four-year sentence on one of the counts with the last three years suspended.

The net effect was that Murray was jailed for one year.

Within days, schools in the area where he served as a public representative removed his portrait from their corridors.

However, a portrait from his time as lord mayor hangs in the main corridor outside the mayoral office in City Hall, as part of a gallery of other former lords mayor.

Sinn Féin councillor Chris O’Leary said last night he raised the issue at a meeting of party whips last week, asking them to consider relocating the portrait.

“I didn’t discuss it with my party members beforehand,” Mr O’Leary said.

“I was slow to raise the issue from a political perspective, given the sensitivities involved, and I didn’t want to be seen to be using this to score political points.

“But we have to be conscious of the sensitivities of people visiting City Hall.”

He suggested the portrait be relocated to a more discreet area.

However, Labour whip Michael Ahern, a former lord mayor, said he is opposed to the suggestion.

He said he will brief his party colleagues on the suggestion, but said: “My own view is that history is history — we can’t change it.

“The portraits are displayed in chronological order and we can’t change that record. To take one out would be to change that history.”

He accepted that this case is exceptional but said the judicial system has delivered its verdict.

Fine Gael party whip Joe O’Callaghan said he will brief his colleagues on the whips’ meeting.

“The whips are duty bound to get the opinions of their members, and to reflect on that,” he said.

“On foot of that, a decision or a position will be arrived at and an indication will be made to the manager about what should be done.”

Fianna Fáil whip Terry Shannon said his party would discuss the issue before tonight’s city council meeting. However, he said they could not undo history and “unmake” Mr Murray a lord mayor.

Several councillors have argued privately that removing the portrait is akin to airbrushing history.

Other, mostly younger councillors, have said that, given the nature of the offence, councillors must be conscious of the sensitivities displaying a photograph of a convicted sex offender in such a public area.

Moving the portrait may require the tabling of a motion, and a vote of council.

It is understood an unscheduled whips’ meeting was arranged for this afternoon to discuss the issue.